7-Quick Takes

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1. Thankfully my back and back side are feeling somewhat better. I can sit for longer periods of time and I can pretty much get in and out of the van without a lot of pain and I can almost make it to the top of the stairs without a lot of pain. So this is progress. A nice lady from the hospital called yesterday to see how I was doing. She relieved my worry about spinal damage. I guess the big signs of spinal cord injury would have been numbness, tingling, and incontinence. Another unrelated symptom that would require immediate care is shortness of breath - meaning a blood clot had traveled to my lungs or something. Luckily I have had none of those. Mr. Pete said it was more like taking a big slab of meat and smacking it down hard on the concrete (or in my case, marble), the meat is just tenderized a little bit. Anyway that made me laugh.

2. So next year Sam will be a Senior. I will have actually homeschooled through high school! There are some in my homeschool group that can say that, but I think I'd be safe to say that the majority either send their kids to public school or an online public school. So I feel pretty proud of Sam and me and of course I have to give some props to mom who helped me for so many years.

3. Now, it's probably true that Sam has missed out on some opportunities, just by virtue of being homeschooled. For example, Izzy's friend, T, is in some kind of program from the public school where if she can keep a high grade point average through jr. high and high school she is eligible for scholarships to OSU. To hear her tell it, it's some kind of partnership between the school and the university for inner city kids. But on the other hand, Sam is truly a sensitive, compassionate, industrious and kind young man. And yea... I know I'm his mom but, long time readers will know that I'm brutally honest about my kid's faults too so I think I'm being fair here.

4. I had to laugh when I re-read that link above from a few years back. I initially wrote it because SLO accused me of only saying nice things about my kids and not being objective about their faults. So to prove her wrong I wrote that - and I sure took on criticism for it!

5. So because I couldn't exercise all week, I feel like such a failure on the fitness front. I had been walking and working out in my basement and now doing nothing - I feel like I'll be starting all over again!

6. I'm feeling like a failure on the spirituality front too. Sometimes I feel as if I can't do EVERYTHING (rosary, Divine office, etc) that I ANYTHING. It's like being on a diet and falling of the wagon and so just giving up completely. Sort of like that. And I missed mass last weekend because of my injury and I really needed to go (although secretly, because it was Mother's day, I'm kind of glad I didn't. I don't think I could do it this year yet.)

7. Mr. Pete had to lay off an employee this week which was sad. He's been getting up every day at 6 and coming home at 8, which hasn't been very easy this week either. The odd thing is that he has the work, and he has a huge accounts receivable but the school systems are holding on to their cash. Probably at the end of the school year he'll start getting it in, but it's sad that it takes two, three, four or more months to get paid for work that was already done.

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It seems that one of the biggest events in confirmation preparation in this country is the letters of support to be given to the confirmation candidates during their mandatory retreats.

I have three such letters saved on this blog:

Confirmation letter to my daughterConfirmation letter to my fourth sonConfirmation letter to to my third son
I've asked my children what they remember about the letter they got from me and their dad, and also what they remembered about the letters they received.
The answer was not much, or at least nothing specific. In general they were happy to have gotten a bag full of letters and there was a sense of feeling loved and supported. I guess that's the main thing - for them to have a sense that this is an important step in their spiritual growth, and that people they know, love and respect have taken the time out of their lives to let them know that!
So here are some tips on procuring and writing letters for young confirmation candidates. Start thinkin…

March 5 and 6, 2010
My Dearest Gabe;
I can’t express to you enough what a wonderful gift you have been to your father and me from the very moment you were born. You have always been such a beautiful, good natured, fun loving and enjoyable baby, little boy and now young man. I am so proud of you and so honored to be your mother.

You know Gabe, you have always been a big guy. When I was pregnant with you the midwife was always amazed at how big you were getting inside of my stomach. And when you came out (with much effort!) you were as big as some 3 month olds! You have stayed ahead of the curve in size for kids your age. I think it is because God has given you a big heart. You are so full of love and joy you needed a big heart to keep it all in and a big body to hold it all. You are my gentle giant.

I know God has a special plan for you and I look forward to helping you figure out what that might be. Always hang on to the memory of these times, remember all that your father and I…

In a few weeks you will be confirmed as a full member of the Catholic Church. Congratulations! I know that you have really worked hard to understand and learn as much about your Catholic faith as you could before receiving this sacrament.
On your retreat there are a few things your Dad and I would like you to remember -

You were our fourth son in a row but you have always been a unique little boy. I love your bright blue eyes, all of those freckles and dimples. I guess God really wanted you to tap into your Celtic Heritage!

I love how you are always ready with a quick smile for everyone.

I loved how even when you were a baby you would cry when a baby on t.v. was crying, or if a kid outside was crying or basically when you saw anyone crying - you didn't even have to know why - you just did. That's great empathy and you still have that today. Don't lose that. It's a great gift to be able to relate to people even when they are at their lowest.15 R…

This is from a discussion I participated on over at the now defunct Birth Control and Catholic Church Forum aka the boardIlovetocommenton. This was a very pro-contraception, dissident Catholic discussion board. I originally posted this on January 21, 2004. Their points initalics, and my responses are highlighted.

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One key point we keep making on the discussions is about how and why the sex act is actually used by married couples, and in this sense, there is absolutely no difference between NFP and ABC in the acts couples make use of (assuming they're using NFP to avoid conception). I would disagree. The is a key element in the practicing Catholic couple's use of NFP in the marital act, is their respectful understanding and acceptance of the teaching of the Catholic Church as well as their submission to that in obedience to Christ's teaching. This is something that is fundamentally missing from the marital act with artificial contraception.

I cannot believe that you are old enough to make your confirmation!! The time has flown by for me! When I was growing up, I always wondered what my own daughter would be like. And I was sure that I would have a daughter because I was the oldest daughter, of the oldest daughter, of the oldest daughter!

But after having your four brothers in a row, even I was beginning to have my doubts! But God had you in the plan after all!

I was amazed when you were born - at your beauty and femininity -at just at how lucky we were to have you!

You were a special surprise too because you came only 15 months after your brother Noah! But as hard as it was having two babies at the same time, I love how close you two have always been, and grateful that you would always have each other to love and count on.

Of course you know you were named for your grandpa Isadore - whom I sure you would have loved very much. In some ways you are very much like him - quietly keeping things to …

God's Not Dead is an uplifting and enjoyable Christian-based movie appropriate for students from elementary school through college and their parents. We went with two of my teenage children and my 8-year-old daughter and we all enjoyed the movie and have had many discussions about it since.

We enjoyed it as a family, but I would also recommend this movie for church youth groups and homeschooling groups. I hope to buy the DVD when it comes out to donate it to our parish.

The premise of the movie involves a freshman philosophy student's challenge to defend the existence of God to his adversarial and intimidating philosophy teacher and his classmates. The stories of other characters (a preacher, a selfish business man, a young woman caring for her mother with dementia, a successful blogger who faces a devastating diagnosis, and a Muslim convert to Christianity) are woven into the plot line until they are…